Any discussion of the background art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Digital Video Management (DVM) systems, such as those based on the Honeywell DVM model, are widely used. In overview, a plurality of cameras are assigned to a plurality of camera servers, with each camera server being configured to make available (for live viewing or recording purposes) video data from an assigned one or more cameras. The camera servers are all centrally managed by a DVM database server.
Configuration of video surveillance systems is often a compromise due to the high bandwidth nature of the artifacts (network and CPU usage for live and storage for recorded video). Operator controls can counter the limitations, for example allowing an operator to manually adjust settings due to an observed situation. However, in times of high alert, video surveillance system operators are under considerable pressure to maintain situational awareness; effectively manage the circumstances of an incident; and capture sufficient data for legal and practical reasons. In such high alert situations, a requirement for manual activity creates another compromise, this time between the operator's ability to maintain his/her situational awareness, and the capturing sufficient useful data.
There is a need in the art for improved systems and methods for managing video data.